The
Law in England & Wales relating to Firearms, Shotguns and Airguns

The following information
is presented by Marple Rifle & Pistol Club (MRPC) in good faith. It is our
understanding of certain aspects of current legislation covering the licensing
of guns within England and Wales but should not be taken
as a complete or definitive statement of the law. Any case of doubt should be
referred to a solicitor specialising in firearms law, or the Firearms Licensing
Unit of your local police force. Note especially
that Northern Ireland, Scotland and locations such as the Isle of Man and the
Channel Islands are not covered by the following information and we advise that specialist help
should be sought for any legal queries within these territories.

If you have a specific question concerning Gun Law and / or
shooting within England and Wales and wish to ask our Legal Eagle for his advice, write to him
(no telephone enquiries please), by clicking on the link shown below and asking
Marple Rifle and Pistol Club's very own expert:

To possess any kind of firearm in the UK, any
person, including foreign nationals resident within the UK, must normally hold either
a Shotgun Certificate (SGC) or a Firearm Certificate (FAC). Air rifles which
produce less than 12 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle, and air pistols which
produce less than 6 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle, are not classed as "firearms" for
certification purposes, but they are still subject to various laws restricting
their ownership and use: see Air Gun Information
below for more details.

It is an offence under Section 21
Firearms Act 1968 as amended, for anyone convicted of a criminal offence, to
handle, possess, or shoot a firearm and ammunition (this includes Air Guns). If
the sentence was for more than three years the prohibition is for life; if less
than three years the prohibition is for five years(note:
it is the sentence, not the time served, which is the determining factor).

A firearm is, broadly speaking for
certification purposes, any lethal, barrelled weapon which isn't a shotgun or an
airgun or a "prohibited weapon". The term "prohibited weapon" covers a multitude
of devices including, but not limited to, machine guns, rocket launchers, pepper
sprays, semi-automatic and pump-action centrefire rifles, disguised firearms,
grenades, torpedoes and "any firearm which either has a barrel less than 30cm in
length or is less than 60cm in length overall" (the most common member of
this last group is a cartridge loading pistol).

For the purposes of legal possession of a firearm, effectively the above leaves
Blackpowder weapons (both rifles and pistols), manually loaded centre-fire cartridge rifles
(and all types of .22 rimfire rifles), and
manually loaded cartridge pistols with dimensions larger than
those defined above. All these weapons are what are termed "Section 1"
firearms and are held on a Section 1 Firearms Certificate (there are other
Sections for different categories of firearms, for example machine guns are in
Section 5 and historic breech-loading firearms are in Section 7). It is
difficult for private citizens to obtain an FAC for other than one covering
Section 1 firearms.

An application for an FAC can be
obtained from any police station. For an application to be successful applicants
must demonstrate to the police that they have satisfactory security in place.
They must also demonstrate that they have "good reason to possess" firearms and
must produce such "good reason" for each individual firearm applied for. Unlike
the SGC an FAC only gives authority for specific individual rifles or pistols,
and the applicant must justify possession of each one separately. Applicants
must nominate two referees to support their application and must declare all
criminal convictions, no matter how old or trivial. The Rehabilitation of
Offenders Act does not apply in respect of firearms legislation. Once granted an
FAC is valid for five years. A person over the age of 18 may be granted an FAC
and may then buy firearms and ammunition as authorised by the certificate. An
FAC may also be granted to a person between 14 and 18, but this will only
authorise the possession of the firearms specified thereon - it will
not authorise the purchase of firearms or ammunition. FACs are not
granted to anyone under the age of 14.

Firearms storage and safe keeping in the home.

The precise requirements for storage of firearms are not actually specified in
law. The legislation merely says that they "must be stored securely at all
times so as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, access to the guns
by unauthorized persons". In practice, a steel cabinet constructed and
certified to comply with BS 7558 and Rawlbolted to a solid wall is the norm. The
vast majority of commercially available gun and rifle cabinets meet the
necessary standards. If your premises have shared access, for example if you
live in a block of flats, the requirements may be more stringent. In all cases
the requirement to prevent access to the firearms by "unauthorised persons",
means anyone who doesn't personally hold a FAC. This means that even members of
your family must not have keys to the cabinet or even know where you keep them.

A shotgun is, broadly speaking for
certification purposes, a smooth-barrelled gun which discharges a number of
pellets, rather than a single projectile, when it is fired. Shotguns held on a
SGC must not be capable of holding more than three cartridges in total. They
may be single barrel, double barrel, pump action or semi-automatic, but the
three cartridge limit still applies and the barrel(s) must be longer than 24
inches. Pumps and semi-autos must be longer than 40 inches overall.

An application for an SGC can be
obtained from any police station. For an application to be successful applicants
must demonstrate to the police that they have satisfactory security in place and
that the possession of a shotgun would not constitute a danger to public safety
or to the peace. Applicants must nominate a counter-signatory to approve their
application and must declare all criminal convictions, no matter how old or
trivial. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act does not apply in respect of
firearms legislation. Once granted, an SGC is valid for five years and
authorises the possession of any number of shotguns and most types of shotgun
ammunition. There is no minimum age for the grant of an SGC.

Shotguns which have barrels shorter
than 24 inches, or which are capable of firing more than three shots without
reloading, may NOT be held on an SGC. They are dealt with under
the FAC provisions. Similarly some types of shotgun ammunition, such as solid
slug cartridges, may only be held on an FAC.

Shotgun storage and safe keeping in the home.

The precise requirements for storage of shotguns are not actually specified in
law. The legislation merely says that they "must be stored securely at all
times so as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, access to the guns
by unauthorized persons". In practice, a steel cabinet constructed and
certified to comply with BS 7558 and Rawlbolted to a solid wall is the norm. The
vast majority of commercially available gun and rifle cabinets meet the
necessary standards. If your premises have shared access, for example if you
live in a block of flats, the requirements may be more stringent. In all cases
the requirement to prevent access to the shotgun by "unauthorised persons",
means anyone who doesn't personally hold a SGC. This means that even members of
your family must not have keys to the cabinet or even know where you keep them.

Air rifles which
produce muzzle energy higher than 12 foot pounds and air pistols higher than 6
foot pounds at the muzzle, are classed as firearms and an FAC is necessary to possess them
legally. If the gun is below the stated figures then no certification of any
kind is required to either, buy, possess or use them. The onus is on the owner
of the gun to ensure that it does not exceed those power levels. If the
gun does exceed those levels, even if the owner is completely unaware of the
fact, then the owner is guilty of illegal possession of a firearm.

People over the age of 18 may
purchase and own low-powered air rifles and air pistols, and the ammunition for
them, and use them, but only where they have specific permission to shoot.

People between 14 and 17 may borrow
(but not own or purchase) low-powered air rifles and air pistols, and the
ammunition for them, and may use them without supervision, on private premises
where they have specific permission to shoot. People in this age group may
NOT buy or hire an air rifle, air pistol or ammunition, or receive them as a
gift. People in this age group may NOT have an air rifle or air pistol in
a public place unless supervised by somebody aged 21 or over, AND have a
reasonable excuse to do so.

People under 14 years of age may
only use low-powered air rifles and air pistols on private property where they
have specific permission to shoot, AND whilst they are under the direct
supervision of someone 21 years of age or older. People in this age group may
NOT buy, hire or receive an air rifle, air pistol or ammunition as a gift,
or shoot, anywhere at any time, unless supervised by somebody aged 21 or over.

Any person on private property
without permission is trespassing, and if that person has an air rifle or an air
pistol, even a low-powered one in their possession, then they are committing the offence
of armed trespass. It is irrelevant whether the gun is loaded or not, or even
whether the person has any pellets in their possession. The mere possession of
the airgun is sufficient for conviction. Armed trespass is a serious criminal
offence carrying heavy penalties.

Air guns which make use of
self-contained air or gas cartridges, where the gas or air propellant and the
pellet or bullet are contained within a single self-contained cartridge are now
prohibited. (The most common example was the Brocock revolver). People who owned
such airguns prior to the ban in 2004 were permitted to retain them, but only
if they were entered on an FAC. Even the ones held on an FAC may not now be
sold, or even given away. The only permitted method of disposal is to hand them
to the police for destruction. Possession of such airguns without an FAC
carries exactly the same penalties as those for possession of other unauthorised
firearms.

Airgun storage and safe keeping in the home.

Since air rifles producing less than 12 foot
pounds muzzle energy, and air pistols producing less than 6 foot pounds of
energy are not included in the firearms licensing procedures, the Firearms Acts
are silent on storage requirements for such guns. However, since 10th February
2011, there is a requirement under the Crime and Security Act 2010 that airgun
owners must "take reasonable precautions to stop unauthorised access to their
airguns by people under the age of 18." The law does not specify what
constitutes "reasonable precautions" and guidance to the police says that
each individual case will be dealt with on its merits and that, "it is not
possible to be prescriptive" about exact security provisions.

MRPC advice of course, is that all shooters should ensure that
their airguns are stored securely, so that they cannot be misused by anyone, but
there is no legal requirement to store airguns to the same security levels as
firearms or shotguns.

To legally possess a muzzle loading
firearm which is to be actually used, rather than kept solely as an ornament or
curio, a Firearm Certificate is necessary irrespective of the age of the
firearm. All the same restrictions apply as they do to a modern breech-loading
firearm.

To legally possess blackpowder for use in a firearm it is
necessary to hold a, "Certificate to Acquire and Keep Explosives". This is
obtainable from the police and is currently free of charge. The Certificate
lasts for three years. It is not mandatory to hold a Firearm Certificate before
applying for an Explosive Certificate.

Effective from 1 July 2012 the Explosive Certificate also
incorporates an authority to transport, as well as possess and store,
explosives, so it is no longer necessary to apply for a separate authority to
transport.

The maximum amount of powder which may be held for personal
use is 15 kilograms and there are specific rules on how it should be stored.
Broadly the rules are that powder should be stored in a wooden (NOT metal) box
constructed of plywood with a minimum thickness of 18 mm – or material with an
equal or greater fire and physical resistance. Full details of the storage
requirements may be found on the
Muzzle Loaders
Association of Great Britain (MLAGB) website.